Toy



' 15, 1940. ELLIOTT 7 2,218,394

TOY Filed Sept. 5, 1939 s Sheeits-Sheet 2 INVENTOR L.E. Elliott A Oct.15, 1940.

L. E. ELLIOTT 2,218,394

TOY Filed Sept. .5, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IT-ED [NV NTOR L.E. Elhott(10M TORNEY Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY m. E.a um, Battle Creek, Mich.

\ Application September 5, 1939, Serial No. 293,322

11 Claims. (01. 46-26) another, it is necessary to substantially orcompletely disassemble same, and then rebuild by reassembling theindividual parts of the toy-set in diflerent order, arrangement, andform. None of such convertible toys are capable ofbeing converted fromone specific object to' another by the substitution of a new member forone member of the original assembly. The accomplishment of this is oneofthe principal objects of the present invention.

Another object is to provide a toy, and in its specific phasesa wheeledtoy. ,With interchangeable silhouette members for converting the toyfrom one formto various other forms.

Another object is to provide toy blocks, a supporting member for same,and silhouette members cooperating in interchangeable manner therewith.v

Another object is the provision of means for assembling fromstandardized parts, including blocks and silhouette members, diflerentforms of indicia representing windows or portholes to protime a morerealistic appearance where the toy has been assembled to represent astreamline rail car, steamship, or the like.

A further object is to provide a structural toy having a wheeled wagon,a tray with blocks mountable thereabove, and a silhouette membercooperating with these items to give the whole assembly the appearanceof a definite object such as a truck, dirigible, monoplane, or the like.

A further object is to provide means for locking the assembly of blocks,silhouette member, et cetera into a stable unit.

A further object is to produce a toy of t character herein describedwhich is relatively in,- expensive to manufacture. I

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and vrelatedends, the invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particular-1y pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawlugs and the followingdescription setting forth in detail certain means for carrying out theinvention, such'disclosed means illustrating, however, but several ofvarious ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevational assembly viewof one form of the present invention representing a streamline bus orrail car.

Figure 2 is a top view of the wagon shown in side view as part of Figure1.

Figure 3 is an end view of the wagon shown in Figure 2, and on which atray has been mount Figure 4 is aside view of the silhouette member usedin the assembly shown in Figure 1.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate silhouette members usable in the place of thestreamline bus or rail car silhouette member of Figure 4 so as toconvert the assembly shown in'Figure 1 respectively to simulate asteamship or dirigible.

Figure 7 shows a silhouette member usable for constructing a toymonoplane.

Figure 8 illustrates one form of block usable with the presentinvention.

Figure 9 illustrates one form of tailpiece usable with the dirigiblesilhouette member of Figure 6.

Figure 10 illustrates one form of tailpiece usable with the monoplanesilhouette member of Figure 7.

Figure 11 is a side elevational assembly view of one formof the presentinvention representing a monoplane.

Figure 12 is atop view of the wing of the monoplane shown in. Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a top view of one form of the present invention as viewedat line l3-I3 of Figure 1.

Figure 14 is an end view of one form of the present inventionillustrating the use of a pair ofsilhouette members.

Figure 15 is a fragmentary perspective view' of the end of a preferredform of symmetrically b constructed block tray.

Figure 16 is a side elevational assembly view of one form of the presentinvention represent- 1 ing a truck.

Figure 17 is a side view of the silhouette memof another form of thepresent invention representing a clown pull toy with two courses ofblocks, one superimposed on the other.

Figure is a partially sectioned assembly view of one form of the presentinvention as taken along the line 2020 of Figure 19.

Structural toys, which have building blocks as a part thereof, have longbeen considered beneficial to a child's welfare because they are amusingto play with, educational, act to familiarize the child with variousobjects, and also train him in positioning the blocks and other parts ofthe toy. To take advantage of this, the arrangement of the presentinvention was devised wherein a plurality of blocks and other parts,including silhouette members, may be as-- sembled to produce a streamlinerail car, steamship, dirigible, truck, et cetera, each of which maybe converted from one to the other by a simple substitution of parts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the stream line bus or railcar I shown in Figure 1 utilizes in preferred construction a wagon 2having a frame 3, axle 4 (Figure 2), and wheels 5. The ends of the frame3 are provided with notches 6, the use of which will be hereinafterdescribed. Mounted on the frame 3 of wagon 2, in preferred construction,is a tray 1 having upwardly flanged side edges 8 (Figures 3 and 15). Theends of the tray are provided with notches 9, the use of which willhereinafter described.

Blocks 10 are preferably mounted on tray I inassembling the toy, andheld against sidewise displacement by means of the upwardly fianged sideedges 8. Tray 1 may be made of various lenghts to accommodate differentnumbers of blocks, and one convenient size,- as is shown in Figure 1,involves the use of a tray sufliciently long to hold seven blocks whichcompletely fill the space from the inner end of notch 9 at one end oftray 1 to the like inner end of notch 9 at the other end of the tray.The use of seven blocks permits the placing of the full alphabet onsame, while leaving two opposite side panels on five of the blocks andtwo opposite side panels and one end panel on the two end blocks tocarry window or porthole indicia 40 which makes the final assembly havea more realistic appearance of the article being depicted by theassembly. There is, however, no particular limitation to the use ofsevenblocks, since obviously more or less blocks could be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention. To complete theassembly, tray I carrying blocks I0 is placed on frame 3 (Figure 1) ofwagon 2 with notches 9 of the tray coinciding with and acting as acontinuation of notches 6 in the end of the wagon frame. Silhouettemember ll (Figure 4) is then slipped into place as shown in Figure 1with the inner corners l2 and 13 of the legs ll and 42 of the silhouettemember I I passing into and engaging notches 6 and 9 at the respectiveends of the wagon frame 3 and tray 1 to hold the whole in assembledposition. The silhouette member H, which makes the assembly of Figure 1take on the appearance of a streamline bus or-rail car, is thus held inupright position by means of notches 6 and I and gives the finishedassembly a realistic appearance when viewed from any side. At the sametime, the silhouette opening 43 passing through notch 6. Silhouettemember l l, under these circumstances, is likewise provided with acorresponding opening 44 making possible the anchoring of the silhouettemember II to frame 3 by means of a suitable pin 14 (Figures 14, 19, and20) or the like.

To convert the streamline bus I of Figure 1 into a steamship, it is onlynecessary to remove silhouette member II and substitute therefor thesteamship silhouette member l5 of Figure 5. On the other hand, if it isdesired to convert the stream line bus of Figure 1 into a dirigible, itis only necessary to substitute the dirigible silhouette member I6 ofFigure 6 for the silhouette member ll of Figure 1. silhouette I6 a morerealistic appearance, it may be provided with a horizontal tailpiece I!(Figures 6 and 9). To facilitate the assembly of the tailpiece I! ondirigible silhouette member IS, the latter is provided with a notch l8and the tailpiece I! with a cooperating notch I9. The simple convertiblefeature of the present invention is thus one of the major advantages ofthe present toy over the previously used toys.

To form the monoplane of Figure 11, a wagon 2a, preferably of likeconstruction to that shown in Figure 2 but with a shorter frame 3a, isused. Removably mounted on this wagon 2a is monoplane silhouette member20 (Figure 7) which for realistic appearance is provided with aremovable wing member 2| (Figure 12) provided with cross notches 22 and23 at its midpoint, the portion of the wing between these notches beingadapted to fit and fill notch 24 (Figure 7) in monoplane silhouettemember 20. To further increase the realistic appearance of the monoplanesilhouette, it may be provided with a re- To give the dirigible theframe 3 of the wagon with a suitable'crossmovable tailpiece 25 (Figures10 and 11), the

latter having a notch 26 adapted to engage notch 21 of silhouette member20. In mounting the monoplane silhouette member 20 on wagon 2a, edges 28and 29 of the notch 30 thereof will engage notches 6 in the ends ofwagon 2a to hold the monoplane silhouette member 20 in upright positionrelative thereto. The body portion of the monoplane utilizes tray 1 andblocks ID assembled in the same manner shown in Figure 1. To completethe assembly of the monoplane. tray 1 carrying blocks I0 is slipped intoplace on the upper edge of the monoplane silhouette member 20 with edges3| and 32 thereof engaging notches 9 in tray 1 to hold same in ahorizontal position, as shown in Figure 11.

In constructing the truck assembly shown in Figure 16, the same Wagon 2shown in Figure 1 may be used. A shorter tray la provided with notches 9in its ends is used in this construction and same preferably carries asmaller number of.

blocks ID, for instance four as shown. The truck silhouette member 33 inthis case is used in the same manner as shown and described inconnection with Figure l with the exception that it engages notches 6 inthe ends of wagon frame I and notches 9 in the ends of tray la inmodified manner, so far as'the front end of the truck is concerned. Herecorner 3| of truck silhouette member 33 engages groove 9 at one end ofthe tray Ia, while the inner corner of extending member 35 engages notch6 in the corresponding end of wagon frame 3. At the rear end of thetruck, the lower portion of leg. 36 of truck silhouette member 33engages notches 9 and 6 of tray Ia and wagon frame 3, the same as,described in connection with Figure l. The use of a short tray la forblocks ill in connection with the truck assembly gives a. more realisticappearance, although the invention is not limited to such a short tray,since obviously the tray could be as long as shown in Figure 1 withoutvarying from the principles involved in the present invention. The useof a short tray, however, illustrates one mode of offset joining of atray to the frame of the wagon by means of a silhouette member, anddemonstrates the adaptability of the invention to changes which effectthe mechanical features, as well as the realistic appearance of the toy.

Instead of using a flanged edge tray to hold blocks Illa againstsidewise displacement, the latter may be provided with a groove 31adapted to receive the under edge of a silhouette member Ila as shown inFigure 18, the ends of the silhouette member being fastened to the endsof wagon frame 3, for instance, as has been hereinbefoie described. Thewheels 5 shown on the wagons illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 11, 13, 14,16, 19, and 20 may be held fixedly in place or for rotation on axle 4 bymeans of keys 38 (Figure 18) or the equivalent. I

Where it is desired to have double decked courses ofblocks, this may beaccomplished, for

instance, as is shown in Figures 19 and 20. The wagon 2b is providedwith a tray lb on which the lower course'of blocks l0 rest, as has beenhereinbefore described. The upper course of blocks II), are likewiseprovided with an inverted tray 10 thereabove. Both trays lb and 10 arepreferably provided with notches 9 at each end as shown in Figure 15 inconnection with one end of the tray, the ends of which are preferablysymmetrical. The placing of the clown silhouette member 39, or the like,as shown in Figure 19' wherein it extends over-the top of the assemblyand engages the notches in the ends of tray 10 and the notches in theends of tray lb and wagon frame 31) acts to hold the whole assembly inunit form.

Instead of a single silhouette member, a plurality of same may be usedif desired for the obtaining of some special effect. Where more than onesilhouette member is to be used, it is preferable to employ a widerwagon frame 3d (Figure 14). In accordance with the present inven- 'tion,this wagon frame 3d would be notched at both ends as would be tray Id toreceive the inner corners of the legs of silhouette members lib and Heat each end thereof. The use of multiple silhouette members also permitsthe use of more than one course of blocks mounted side by side on thetray, for instance, as is shown in Figure 14, where the two courses ofblocks llib and I00 are mounted on tray 1d. The silhouette members usedfor various constructions of the present invention may be formed fromwood,-sheet plastic material, hard rubber, metal, or any otherequivalent material, the cross-hatching used in the drawings beingintended to diagrammatically l illustrate the use of, any of these formsof material.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of those explained, change being made as regards thearticleherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the followingclaims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A toy which comprises a frame member, blocks carried thereby,interchangeable silhouette members fitting said frame, and cooperatingparts on said silhouette members and frame for refiasably holding samein position alter assem- 2. A toy with blocks and supporting meanstherefor, and a plurality of interchangeable silhouette members forconverting said toy so as to simulate different objects, said silhouettemembers and the supporting means for said blocks having cooperatingparts for releasably holding same in position after assembly.

3. In a. toy, a plurality of blocks lying end to end in a row, asupporting member therefor, and-a silhouette member which is longer thanthe total length of said row' of blocks, said silhouette member beingadapted to contact the outer ends of said row of blocks and at the sametime engage the ends of said supporting member.

4. In a toy, a plurality of blocks lying end to end in a row, a traytherefor, a wheeled supporting member, and a silhouette member which islonger than the total length of said row of blocks, said silhouettemember being adapted to contact the outer ends of said row of blocks,and at the same time engage the ends of both said tray and wheeledsupporting member.

5. In a toy, a tray with upwardly flanged side edges, a. plurality ofblocks lying end to end in a. row on said tray between said upwardlyflanged side edges, a wheeled supporting member, said tray andsupporting member being provided at each end with corresponding verticalgrooves, and a plurality of interchangeable silhouette members forconverting said toy so as to simulate diiferent objects, each of saidsilhouette members being adapted to engage with the grooves in the endof said tray and wheeled supporting member so as to hold the particularsilhouette used in upright position relative thereto.

6. In a toy, a. tray with'upwardly flanged side edges, 9. pluralityofblocks lying end to end in a row on said tray between said upwardlyflanged side edges, a wheeled supporting member, said tray andsupporting member being provided at each end with corresponding verticalgrooves,

and a plurality of interchangeable silhouette members for convertingsaid toy so as to simulate different objects, each of said silhouettemembers having an upper portion and-depending legs at each end thereof,said legs being substantially parallel and adapted to engage with thegrooves in the end of said tray and wheeled supporting member so as tohold the particular silhouette used in upright position relative theretowhile the inner face of said upper portion of the silhouette memberrests on the upper edge of said blocks.

'7. In a toy, a plurality of blocks mounted in two courses, onesuperimposed on the other, a tray below the lower course of blocks, saidtray being provided with means for holding said lower courseuof blocksagainst sidewise movement,

a my above the upper course of blocks, said tray being provided withmeans tor holding the upper course at blocks against sidewise movement,a mpporting means for said trays and blocks, and a silhouette munberadapted to engage the ends oi saidtrass andioin same tothe saidsupporting member while holding the blocks in place.

8. In a toy, a tray, a plurality of blocks mounted side by side in twocourses on said tray, a supporting member for said tray, a plurality ofinterchangeable silhouette members usable at least one at a time toconvert said toy so as to simulate different objects, and means at theends of said tray and supporting member adapted for same in presecribedposition relative thereto.

9. In a toy, a plurality of blocks in a row, a supporting member forsaid blocks, a silhouette member providing an object outline for saidassembly of blocks and supporting member, and means for locking saidsilhouette member and supporting member together.

10. In a monoplane toy, a tray with upwardly flanged side edges, aplurality of blocks lying end I to end in a row on said tray betweensaid side edges, a supporting member, and a monoplane silhouette memberwhich is longer than the total length of said row of blocks, saidsilhouette member being adapted on one edge to engage the ends oi saidtray to hold same in position while contacting the outer ends of saidrow of blocks, and on the other edge to engage the supporting member.

11. In a monoplane toy, a tray with upwardly flanged side edges, aplurality of blocks lying end to end 'in a row on said tray between saidupwardly flanged side edges, a wheeled supporting member, a monoplanesilhouette member having a wing member and a tailpiece, the upper edgeof said silhouette member being adapted to engage a, groove in each endof said tray to hold same in position while extending upward above saidtray at the ends of the row of said blocks,

the lower edge of said silhouette member being adapted to engage avertical groove in each end 01' said wheeled supporting member.

